We are diving into the lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy, the tragedy of the belief that she needed to be "fixed" in the first place, and her life post-lobotomy. Thankfully, she found peace and joy toward the end of her life. Keep a critical ear out for threads of where we are today with Rosemary's nephew, RFK Jr. and MAHA.

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources (there's a lot):

Books: The Kennedy Curse by Edward Klein, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Katie Clifford Larson, The First Kennedys: The Humber Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson, After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan, The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power by Garry Wills, Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

Media: Grey Gardens (1975 documentary), JFK (1991 film), Thirteen Days (2000 film), Murder in Greenwich (2002 television film), Bobby (2006 film), Grey Gardens (2006 musical), Grey Gardens (2009 film), Parkland (2013 film), 11.23.63 (2016 series), Jackie (2016 film), Chappaquiddick (2017 film), Cover-Up (2018 podcast), The RFK Tapes (2018 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episodes 400-405: JFK (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Relaxed Fit: Marilyn Monroe & The President’s Aspirin (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Side Stories: The Bullet in the Backseat (2023 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 366: Lobotomy Crimes (2024 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 1046: The Miseducation of Ed Larsen - JFK & Government Conspiracies (2025 podcast), United States of Kennedy (2025 podcast), Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder (2025 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 456: Family Curses (2026 podcast), Love Story (2026 series)

Websites: historyhit.com, Scientific America, CNN, PBS, CBS News, BBC, Autistic Self Advocacy Center, InStyle, Best Buddies International, All Things Interesting, USA Today, Today in Civil Liberties, Cambridge Dictionary, Kennedys and King, RJP Books, New York Post, Boston Magazine, Time, The Moth, Vanity Fair, Voices Center for Resilience, Reddit, Washington Association of Black Journalists, NPR, The Ringer, The Daily Express, The Harvard Crimson, Wikipedia

The Kennedy Curse, Part 5

We are back with a new episode and a format change! Joy and I are reworking how we create and present the pod. You'll hear Nikki's voice more and Joy is doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes, but both of our opinions and ideas will still be heard.

In today's episode, we dive into the "lost Kennedy," Rosemary Kennedy. Could what happened to Rosemary been an early predictor of where we are now with her uncle Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? We talk about Rosemary's early life, her teenage and young adult years, and the dangerous ideologies of the time that led her wealthy parents to make a lot of terrible choices regarding her development and care.

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources (there's a lot):

Books: The Kennedy Curse by Edward Klein, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Katie Clifford Larson, The First Kennedys: The Humber Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson, After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan, The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power by Garry Wills, Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

Media: Grey Gardens (1975 documentary), JFK (1991 film), Thirteen Days (2000 film), Murder in Greenwich (2002 television film), Bobby (2006 film), Grey Gardens (2006 musical), Grey Gardens (2009 film), Parkland (2013 film), 11.23.63 (2016 series), Jackie (2016 film), Chappaquiddick (2017 film), Cover-Up (2018 podcast), The RFK Tapes (2018 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episodes 400-405: JFK (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Relaxed Fit: Marilyn Monroe & The President’s Aspirin (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Side Stories: The Bullet in the Backseat (2023 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 366: Lobotomy Crimes (2024 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 1046: The Miseducation of Ed Larsen - JFK & Government Conspiracies (2025 podcast), United States of Kennedy (2025 podcast), Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder (2025 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 456: Family Curses (2026 podcast), Love Story (2026 series)

Websites: historyhit.com, Scientific America, CNN, PBS, CBS News, BBC, Autistic Self Advocacy Center, InStyle, Best Buddies International, All Things Interesting, USA Today, Today in Civil Liberties, Cambridge Dictionary, Kennedys and King, RJP Books, New York Post, Boston Magazine, Time, The Moth, Vanity Fair, Voices Center for Resilience, Reddit, Washington Association of Black Journalists, NPR, The Ringer, The Daily Express, The Harvard Crimson, Wikipedia

The Kennedy Curse, Part 4

Welcome back to the Kennedy Curse. Today, we talk about how the Kennedy family ended up in Boston from Ireland and the first generation born in the United States.

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources (there's a lot):

Books: The Kennedy Curse by Edward Klein, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Katie Clifford Larson, The First Kennedys: The Humber Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson, After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan, The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power by Garry Wills, Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

Media: Grey Gardens (1975 documentary), JFK (1991 film), Thirteen Days (2000 film), Murder in Greenwich (2002 television film), Bobby (2006 film), Grey Gardens (2006 musical), Grey Gardens (2009 film), Parkland (2013 film), 11.23.63 (2016 series), Jackie (2016 film), Chappaquiddick (2017 film), Cover-Up (2018 podcast), The RFK Tapes (2018 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episodes 400-405: JFK (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Relaxed Fit: Marilyn Monroe & The President’s Aspirin (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Side Stories: The Bullet in the Backseat (2023 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 366: Lobotomy Crimes (2024 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 1046: The Miseducation of Ed Larsen - JFK & Government Conspiracies (2025 podcast), United States of Kennedy (2025 podcast), Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder (2025 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 456: Family Curses (2026 podcast), Love Story (2026 series)

Websites: historyhit.com, Scientific America, CNN, PBS, CBS News, BBC, Autistic Self Advocacy Center, InStyle, Best Buddies International, All Things Interesting, USA Today, Today in Civil Liberties, Cambridge Dictionary, Kennedys and King, RJP Books, New York Post, Boston Magazine, Time, The Moth, Vanity Fair, Voices Center for Resilience, Reddit, Washington Association of Black Journalists, NPR, The Ringer, The Daily Express, The Harvard Crimson, Wikipedia

The Kennedy Curse, Part 3

The Kennedy Curse, Part 2

Welcome to episode one of our new series: The Kennedy Curse. This is going to be a billion part series. No really. Nikki has been researching and writing since September.

In this episode, we define "the curse," talking about the patterns of behavior we are going to see from the first Kennedy to come to America to today, and talk about the legacy of the Kennedy name in the United States.

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources (there's a lot):

Books: The Kennedy Curse by Edward Klein, Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Katie Clifford Larson, The First Kennedys: The Humber Roots of an American Dynasty by Neal Thompson, After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present by J. Randy Taraborrelli, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan, The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power by Garry Wills, Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

Media: Grey Gardens (1975 documentary), JFK (1991 film), Thirteen Days (2000 film), Murder in Greenwich (2002 television film), Bobby (2006 film), Grey Gardens (2006 musical), Grey Gardens (2009 film), Parkland (2013 film), 11.23.63 (2016 series), Jackie (2016 film), Chappaquiddick (2017 film), Cover-Up (2018 podcast), The RFK Tapes (2018 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episodes 400-405: JFK (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Relaxed Fit: Marilyn Monroe & The President’s Aspirin (2020 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode Side Stories: The Bullet in the Backseat (2023 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 366: Lobotomy Crimes (2024 podcast), The Last Podcast on the Left, Episode 1046: The Miseducation of Ed Larsen - JFK & Government Conspiracies (2025 podcast), United States of Kennedy (2025 podcast), Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder (2025 podcast), Wine & Crime, Episode 456: Family Curses (2026 podcast), Love Story (2026 series)

Websites: historyhit.com, Scientific America, CNN, PBS, CBS News, BBC, Autistic Self Advocacy Center, InStyle, Best Buddies International, All Things Interesting, USA Today, Today in Civil Liberties, Cambridge Dictionary, Kennedys and King, RJP Books, New York Post, Boston Magazine, Time, The Moth, Vanity Fair, Voices Center for Resilience, Reddit, Washington Association of Black Journalists, NPR, The Ringer, The Daily Express, The Harvard Crimson, Wikipedia

The Kennedy Curse, Part 1

We didn't want to do more episodes on the Duggars. Truly. It would mean they've just faded away. But, here we are. Joseph Duggar was arrested. Let's talk about what happened and what's next.

Please note: Of course, more things happened between recording and posting. I'll do my best to record a mini-minisode with those updates and post soon!

Please note again: My sound probably isn't amazing. I recorded in an echo-y room while hiding under a sweater. Sorry!

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Minisode: Joseph Duggar's Arrest

We continue walking through Joy's research into possible links between the crimes of Alex Murdaugh and Jeffrey Epstein.

Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources:

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-estate-hilton-head-teen/article_a58fcca8-ba02-4303-91df-35665fd69a36.html

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2012/EFTA02858481.pdf

https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EFTA02858491.pdf

https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EFTA02858495.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16066603/doe-1-v-jeffrey-epstein/

Murdaugh Bonus: Epstein and South Carolina 2

Joy did some research into a few specific documents from the Epstein files. Did Epstein recognize the value of South Carolina as a key part of trafficking routes?

Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Sources:

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-estate-hilton-head-teen/article_a58fcca8-ba02-4303-91df-35665fd69a36.html

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2012/EFTA02858481.pdf

https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EFTA02858491.pdf

https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EFTA02858495.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16066603/doe-1-v-jeffrey-epstein/

Murdaugh Bonus: Epstein and South Carolina 1

Our final episode (for now) on the Murdaugh Murders. We walk through the most recent appeal that Alex's team brought to the South Carolina Supreme Court. If he is granted a new trial, we will be back with more on this case. Until then, onto a new series next week!

Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Murdaugh Murders, Part 12

On today's episode, we keep talking through the appeals process and what we think will come next for Alex Murdaugh.

Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters [https://www.youtube.com/@FixateToday]

Murdaugh Murders, Part 11

We are Joy and Nikki, and we are two neurodivergent ladies who obsess about various topics. Joy is autistic and Nikki has ADHD, and we are letting our hyperfixations fly.

Check out our YouTube channel, Fixate Today: Grey Matters! [https://www.youtube.com/@fixatetoday]

Produced and edited by our third cohort Evelyn.

Nikki

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